Guardian Angel
by FailKitten13
Summary: Zoro goes for a walk one day to find a mute girl named Vivi, left to die in the middle of a field. He takes her in to help her find her family, only to find out that he has a lot more to worry about that he initially thought. Rated M for violence and implied sexual assault. ZoVi. Roleplay my sister and I are finishing up.
1. Chapter 1

It was a fairly nice day. In fact, it was just nice enough for Zoro Roronoa to take a walk.

He didn't know where exactly he was headed or how long he'd been walking. However, he'd ended up on a dirt road next to a field. It was lucky he happened to look out at the field.

There was a body out there.

Did this mean he should call the police?

He pulled out his cell phone, but before he could dial one number his eyes registered movement.

Zoro stepped off the road, putting his phone back in his pocket as he approached the supposed body.

It was a girl with blue hair. She looked hurt.

He cautiously poked her face, hoping she'd wake up.

The girl opened her eyes to see a muscular, green-haired man hanging over her. She shot up and scrambled backwards away from him, her eyes wide. She tried to ask him who he was, but she couldn't speak. She grabbed her head and scooted back even further from the green-haired man.

"Hey!" Zoro exclaimed, surprised by the sudden flurry of movement. "Hey, I'm not going to hurt you!"

He looked into her eyes.

"What happened to you? You look awful."

She touched her throat and shrugged at him. She had no way to tell him anything accurately. On top of that, she didn't remember anything.

Zoro frowned. "What's wrong? Can't you speak?"

What happened to this girl? She was battered, dirty, wearing rags, and she evidently couldn't even talk. Who did this to her?

She shook her head. All she knew otherwise was how frustrated, sore, cold, and confused she was.

Zoro stood, helping the girl up with him.

"Come on. I'll take you home. We'll think of something."

Seeing she was hesitant about going with a strange man, he added, "Hey, my name's Zoro. I'm not going to do anything bad to you. I'm just going to help you find your family."

She looked up at him and suddenly felt better. Taking a rather large leap of faith for anyone in her shoes, she nodded to him and squeezed his hand.


	2. Chapter 2

The girl had taken a shower and gotten on some new clothes(Zoro's clothes, in fact, since he didn't have any petite women's clothing just laying around). He'd given her some toast - which was the extent of his culinary prowess - and was now setting a notepad and pencil before her.

"Here. I hope you know how to write. Let's start with your name."

She smiled and picked up the pencil, writing only the word, 'Vivi'.

"Good. That's progress. Now I know what to call you. So, uh, Vivi, do you know who did this to you?"

Vivi shook her head and wrote, 'I don't remember anything.'

"Great...great," Zoro sighed, rubbing his temples. "That could be a little bit of a problem, actually."

He glanced at Vivi. "I'll figure something out...maybe I should call the police and report you as a missing person."

Subconsciously, she grabbed his arm and shook her head. For some reason, she didn't trust the police.

"Oh...okay...then what can I do?" Zoro asked, becoming frustrated.

It was as if she didn't want him to help her!

She shrugged and let go of his arm.

Zoro sighed. "What? Should we go door-to-door, asking people if they recognise you?"

Vivi picked up the pad and pencil again, writing, 'I don't think anyone would recognise me, but we could try it.'

"It's the only idea I have," he told her as he stood up and grabbed the phone. "It's getting late, so I'll call in to work for tomorrow and we can go through town then."

'Thank you, Zoro,' she jotted down quickly, smiling up at him and grabbing his hand.

Zoro started slightly, looking down at her.

"Uh...you're welcome," he replied stiffly, using his free hand to finish the phone call.

She watched him carefully until he finished and turned back to her.

"I have the rest of the day off tomorrow," he explained. "For now, just...I'unno, make yourself at home."

He pointed down the hallway.

"Bedroom's yours."

She almost reluctantly let go of his hand to write a response.

'Won't you be sleeping there, too?'

She cocked her head at him.

"No!" he responded hastily, his face flushing a little. "Of course not! That's why I said it was yours!"

Talk about putting your foot in your mouth.

'Where will you sleep, then?'

"Wherever I want," he began.

With a little thought, he revised with "The living room."

'Won't you be uncomfortable?'

"I'll be fine. It's not like this is permanent. Besides...you got hurt pretty bad, and you're alone for the time being. I think your comfort's more important than mine right now."

The last part was said fairly quick and quiet, but he was sure he got his point across.

'I don't mean to seem ungrateful, but I can't help but feel like you're being too nice to me.'

Vivi rubbed her arm nervously.

"Well, don't worry about it," Zoro assure her. "I'm just doing what anyone else would do; just being decent."

'I can't thank you enough for helping me,' she wrote before shaking his hand for emphasis.

Why did she make it a point to continually touch his hand?

"Well...like I said, anyone would."

Awkwardly, she pulled him into a hug, and tears began rolling down her face.

"Wait, hey! Are you...?"

He didn't know what to do here. He lived his life alone and never had to deal with anyone else's problems.

Awkwardly, Zoro patted Vivi on the back(is this what I'm supposed to do?).

"It's...uh...it's okay," he tried.

She had no idea why she'd started crying, but she couldn't stop.

She held onto him tighter.

Hesitantly, Zoro hugged her back.

"Don't worry...I'm going to help you..."

She nodded in response and loosened her grip a bit.

Zoro cleared his throat and held her out at arm's length.

"Don't cry, okay? I'm sure you'll be home soon. Maybe even tomorrow. Someone out there loves you a lot and is worried sick about you."

He ruffled her hair slightly.

"And we're going to find them."

She wiped a tear away from her eye and nodded.

"Good," he sighed, nodding in return. "You feeling alright now? Need anything from me?"

She shook her hand and took his hand again.

There it was again: She was making it a point to hold his hand. Zoro decided not to draw attention to it, though as he spoke next his grip on her hand subconsciously tightened.

"Are you getting tired?"

Truthfully, he was, but he wasn't about to go to sleep and leave Vivi up all by herself.

Her face turned a light shade of pink, and for a moment it seemed almost as if the question had stunned her. After a few awkward moments of silence, she nodded.

"'Kay," he responded, patting her on the back. "Get some rest, kiddo."

She squeezed his hand again before letting go to go to bed.


	3. Chapter 3

They basically spent all of the next day going door to door with absolutely no results. Though quite discouraged, Zoro didn't show it. He remained stoic even as they headed back to his place.

"Maybe you just aren't from this neighbourhood," he decided. "I'll figure something out; don't worry."

He opened the door and let her in.

Vivi was obviously disappointed. She walked inside and slumped down onto the couch. Zoro sat next to her.

"Hey, it's alright..." He patted her on the back. "Maybe something about you is on the news."

With that notion, Zoro switched on the TV.

"...a dead body in the park this morning. Police officials say the body is mangled in a very similar way to a body from two weeks ago, twenty miles from this spot. Here's Maranda Charleston with more on this."

"At least four girls have been brutally tortured and killed in the area, and no one knows why, or who did it."

Four pictures popped up on the screen: Three seemingly random girls and Vivi.

"These girls have been missing for months. If you have any information regarding their disappearance, please call the number on the screen."

Vivi was frozen solid.

All three of the other girls on the screen were familiar to her.

She turned to look at Zoro, her expression clearly showing a mixture of fear and shock.

Zoro had the number written down, and he showed it to Vivi.

"Do you want me to call this number now, or save it for an emergency?" he asked carefully.

Of course, he classified now as an emergency, but his thoughts wandered back to Vivi's distrust of the authorites. It was his duty to report her found, but it was also his duty to make sure she felt safe and secure. This wasn't a great combination.

'Go ahead and call it,' she wrote.

Subconsciously, she grabbed his hand yet again, holding it up to her chest like some sort of security blanket.

Zoro's face heated up as he used his free hand to dial the number from the news show.

"Hello?" Zoro asked when they picked up. "Yeah, uh, I'm calling about the missing girls. Yeah, see, I found the blue-haired one yesterday. She's alive, but she can't remember anything or talk. She wrote her name is Vivi, and I was wondering if you know who her family is...?"

"Could you give us your address, Sir?" the voice responded.

Zoro did before conitnuing, "Did anyone come looking for her?"

"Yes: A muscley doctor claiming to be her father."

"...Are you going to send him to my house?" he asked, shooting a smile at Vivi as if to tell her he solved all her problems.

"Yes. He'll be over there as soon as possible. Thank you for your call."

The lady on the other end hang up.

Zoro did the same as he turned to look at Vivi, grinning.

"They found your dad. He's coming over soon."

She smiled widely in return, squeezing his hand.

Zoro felt a lot better about not being able to find her family after that.


	4. Chapter 4

There was a knock on the door.

"Hey, Vivi," Zoro called as he opened it to meet a muscular man with a scar across his face. "He's here!"

Odd.

"Hey, come in," Zoro greeted, stepping aside so he could do that.

The man obliged, sitting at the table.

Vivi came down the hall with a bounce in her step. Once she rounded the corner, however, and saw the man at the table, she froze instantly.

That man was all too familiar, but not as her father.

Vivi fell down and scooted a few feet away from the scene before her. Then, frantically, she scrambled to her feet and ran into the bedroom where she hid in the closet.

"Ah, Vivi - " the man started before she ran off.

He seemed surprised.

"Here," Zoro said, grabbing a notepad and pencil before standing. "Let me talk to her."

He headed down the hall after her, searching until he found her in the closet. He crouched next to her and handed her the notepad and pencil before speaking.

"Vivi, don't you want to go home?" Zoro asked.

'Don't let him take me, Zoro. I know for a fact that's the man that tried to kill me,' Vivi explained, her hand shaking as she wrote.

She handed him the notepad and continued to cling to the corner of the closet.

"You..." Zoro stared at the page for a solid minute, trying to register what he was seeing. "You're serious? Absolutely sure?"

The guy had certainly looked sinister, but Zoro didn't look too friendly himself. She was okay with him as soon as he'd introduced himself.

However, she nodded frantically, and something told Zoro to trust her judgement.

"Okay, okay. It's alright; I'll go get rid of him, then," he reassured her with a pat on the head as he stood.

He headed back out into the dining room.

"Uh...okay, so...do you think you could come back later?" he tried.

"No. Just let me have my daughter, and I'll leave," the man answered calmly.

"Well, uh...I can't, you see. She's, erm, she has to get her bearings. She's been having some mental problems lately...? She should be better in a week?"

He hadn't meant to invite the man back.

"No. Give her back now."

He was beginning to sound agitated.

Zoro crossed his arms, standing his ground firmly in spite of how small even he was compared to this man.

"I can't do that," he told him flatly. "You should be concerned about your daughter's well being more than this stranger is."

The man slammed his hands on the table as he stood up.

"What gives you the right to keep my child from me?" he demanded angrily.

"She isn't in the condition to go anywhere right now! She's been hiding in that closet the entire time she's been here!" Zoro lied. "What gives you the right to force your daughter into a possibly scary situation like that?"

"You sicko!" he shouted as he pushed Zoro to the ground and went through the house looking for Vivi.

Zoro forced himself up to his feet, running after the man.

"I'm not the one ripping this defenseless girl out of where she feels safe!" he continued to argue. "I told you you could come back next week. I should have her set up with a counselor by then!"

Zoro wondered if he sounded as desperate as he felt.

"You can't keep my daughter away from me!"

He came up the the bedroom closet and searched it, but Vivi wasn't there. Only the notepad remained. Upon reading the incriminating item, the scarred man froze for a moment before quickly leaving the house.

Zoro watched him leave, heart beating rapidly. When the man was long gone, he regained his ability to move.

"Vivi!" he called, running through the house frantically. "Vivi, are you okay?"

As if on queue, Vivi pulled on the back of Zoro's shirt to get his attention and gave him a sheet of paper.

'Did he hurt you?' it read.

A concerned look crossed her face.

Zoro let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.

"I thought he'd found you," he sputtered as he looked at the paper. "No, no, he didn't do anything to me. Are you okay?"

She nodded hesitantly and grabbed his hand.

"I don't just mean physically. Are you sure you're okay?"

She nodded again, though it seemed even more unsure than the last one.

Zoro sighed and lightly ruffled her hair.

"Can't hide it from me, kiddo," he told her. "But, hey, if you don't want to talk about it, I won't make you."

Vivi squeezed his hand and nodded, and Zoro copied her actions as if communicating with her in some sort of secret language.

"Would it make you feel better if we stayed somewhere else for a while?" he suggested.

She thought about it a moment, then nodded.

"Okay."

He let go of her hand.

"I'll pack a few things and we'll go."

Zoro threw a few necessities into a suitcase and brought it out. He threw a coat of his over Vivi's shoulders, pulling the hood up.

"We don't want anyone to recognise you and hand you over," he explained. "So, let's go."

'I'm sorry,' she jotted down quickly on the paper she had.

Zoro put the suitcase down to look her in the eyes more effectively.

"Don't apologise, Vivi," he told her firmly. "I'm helping you because I want to."

She mouthed the words 'thank you' before throwing her arms around his neck.

"You're...welcome, Vivi," he replied awkwardly, before clearing his throat and gently pushing her off of him.

"Let's get going."

Vivi let go of him, and grabbed his hand before following him out.


	5. Chapter 5

Zoro had checked into a hotel out of town, and they had gotten situated in their room.

"Vivi," Zoro said, looking over at her, "I think we should get some clothes for you."

He couldn't very well throw his own too-big clothes on her every time they left. He could see she was having issues keeping them on. Besides, it was a little weird having this strange little woman wear his clothes.

Vivi picked up a notepad and pen.

'It's okay. You don't have to do that. As you said, this is a temporary arrangement.'

"You can't just keep wearing my clothes; they won't stay on you!"

'I know, but I don't want to be any more of a burden to you than I have been.'

"Vivi," Zoro corrected her, "you are not a burden. I want you to have some clothes of your own."

She nodded, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly.

Zoro and Vivi wound up in a store about an hour later, with Zoro patting Vivi on the back as if to urge her forward into the world on her own.

"Go and get whatever you need."

He didn't want to be there when she had to get something weird and girly.

Vivi reluctantly ventured off on her own into the store.

Zoro sat by the end of one of the checkout counters. A few minutes passed before he heard the doors open again, and in walked an all-too-familiar figure. Zoro found himself hoping desperately that Vivi truly wasn't recognisable in her rather half-assed disguise.

Vivi saw the man at the door and hid behind a clothes rack.

Zoro stayed seated, keeping an eye on the sinister character. As long as Vivi kept that jacket on and acter natural - besides pretending she didn't know Zoro - everything should be fine.

He prepared himself for a confrontation, however, tensing up and staring into the man's soul.

"You got a problem, buddy?" the man asked.

"No," Zoro replied flatly.

Maybe the man didn't remember him. Zoro turned his face away from his hastily.

"Good," the man turned away and continued through the store.

Zoro turned his attention back to where he saw Vivi last and looked for her cautiously.

Vivi was then sitting behind the clothing rack she was looking at, holding her breath, and as she did the chances she would come out of said hiding spot unseen dwindled.

Zoro stood up, unsure of what he was seeing.

That was where Vivi had been earlier, right?

Zoro wandered closer to the rack and pretended to look through one that was nearby.

Finally deciding that she might as well make a run for it, Vivi quickly rolled out from under the cover of that clothes rack to another rack to the left of it. Hopefully, she'd done so unnoticed.

Zoro cleared his throat loudly, his best idea of a distraction.

The large man, searching the clothes rack to Zoro's right, glared at him a moment before returning to his business.

Zoro went to 'search' the display Vivi was behind, signaling for her to go hide in the women's dressing room. Vivi gasped and backed away, thinking the sudden movement was a threat. Then, realising who it was, she sighed in relief and inconspicuously made her way to the women's dressing room.

Zoro watched her leave in an equally inconspicuous manner until the man left, going to find her as soon as the coast was clear.

He knocked on the door of the dressing room.

Vivi cracked the door to see who knocked; then, seeing it was Zoro, she opened the door.

"He's gone now," Zoro told her. "Go on and finish shopping or whatever."

After a few minutes of shopping, they headed back to the hotel.

"Go ahead and change," Zoro said as he put the leftover money back into its pocket on his suitcase. "You must be sick of my clothes."

She went into the bathroom to change. As soon as she came back out, Zoro remembered another rather important question.

"Hey, Vivi? Do you have any other wounds?" he asked her.

Vivi blinked, caught off guard by the sudden question, then nodded.

Zoro handed her the notepad.

"What are they?"

She took it from him and wrote, 'I may or may not have some broken ribs and a few cuts on the left side of my chest.'

"Why didn't you tell me sooner? You need to see a doctor."

She shrugged.

"This isn't just...something you can shrug off, Vivi! How in god's name have you been able to hide broken ribs from me?"

Maybe he wasn't paying too much attention to her. That wasn't out of the question, he knew.

She smiled awkwardly and shrugged again.

Zoro stood up. "Come on then, let's go."

Vivi stood up and grabbed his hand.


	6. Chapter 6

After all was said and done, the doctors told Zoro Vivi had to stay overnight. He went into her room, where she was just waking up from the anesthesia. It was obvious her brain wasn't completely functional yet.

"How are you feeling?" he asked her anyway.

Vivi simply smiled widely and grabbed his hand. She couldn't find any words or gestures to describe how happy she was to see him.

"That's good," Zoro told her, oblivious. "I don't guess you're reasy to write yet, but that's okay."

Zoro carefully patted her on the head, debating inwardly whether or not to stay in the hospital.

"Do you think you'll be okay here alone?" he blurted.

She thought a moment before patting his hand and letting go of it, not exactly wanting him to leave but still being mindful of the fact he had other things to do.

He nodded to her. "It's not like I have a lot to do. I just need to pay for the room tonight so we don't get kicked out because I forgot to do that earlier. I'll be right back."

She nodded to him, even though all she heard was 'I'll be right back'.

Zoro patted her hand and left the room.

Zoro was back pretty quickly, coming back to check on Vivi. He'd brought the paper this time, in the hopes her anesthesia had worn off some more.

"Hey, Vivi, I'm back," he greeted as he entered the room and took a seat next to the bed.

She smiled widely at him and sat up.

He handed her the notebook.

"Feeling better?"

She nodded and gave him a hug.

He patted her on the back lightly, thinking of how strange it was that they'd become so close in less than three days.

"Don't hide any broken bones or anything like that from me anymore. Promise?"

Vivi held him out at arms' length to nod to him, then went right back to hugging him. She knew she'd only met him recently, but he was the first person who made her feel this safe in a long while.

"You've had a long day," Zoro started after clearing his throat and pulling away from the hug. "Why don't you go to sleep?"

'I'm not tired,' she wrote.

"You sure?"

He reasoned she was technically asleep for surgery.

She nodded, still smiling at him.

"Well...are you hungry?" he asked, not sure what else he could do.

She shook her head.

Zoro shrugged.

"What do you want to do, then?"

She got up from the bed and took Zoro by the hand, intending to take him on some sort of adventure through the hospital. Though confused, Zoro went along with her anyway.

"Where are you going?" he asked her, thinking he should have said 'we'.

Vivi shrugged and continued dragging him down the hall. Truthfully, she just wanted to walk around with him.

"Hello, Vivi," a doctor greeted cheerfully. "Why aren't you resting?"

Zoro handed her her notebook.

'I'm just taking a walk with Zoro,' she scribed, holding it up for him to see.

"Okay, but be careful," the doctor advised.

She nodded to him, and the odd pair kept going forward, Zoro's eyes roaming about as they did.

"DAMN IT!" a doctor shouted, and his clipboard could be heard clattering against his desk or the floor behind the door of his office.

Vivi jumped at the sudden commotion and instinctively took to hiding behind Zoro. Zoro looked in the direction of the outburst spontaneously. When he had the chance to reason out what the noise was, he simply patted Vivi gently on the head.

"It's okay, Vivi. Just some angry doctor."

Vivi's face reddened in embarrassment at how jumpy she was. As she inched out from behind him, Zoro smiled a little.

"Don't worry about it. It startled me a little, too."

In reply, she grasped his hand once more and continued walking with him. It was a great feeling to have someone depend on him the way Vivi did. He felt like he adopted his very own little sister. There was some sort of strange connection there that made him believe, for just a moment, that they could prossibly be related. Perhaps that was why this intimidating man was letting her drag him all over the place. Hell, he wasn't entirely sure he'd put up too much of a fight even if she'd decided he was officially her new dress-up doll.

He shook his head. How old did he think she was?

"Looking for something in particular?" he asked her after a few minutes of silence.

She looked up at him before shaking her head in response. In vast contrast to Zoro's own thoughts, Vivi was worried he felt ridiculous being dragged around by this tiny crippled woman. On that note, she started heading back to the room before she embarrassed the man too much.

"You're done already?" Zoro asked her, raising his eyebrow.

He could have sworn they'd just left the room ten minutes ago.

She nodded to him. It was a good thing she'd decided to come back anyway, she decided. She was close to collapsing and spending the night on the linoleum.

"It didn't take long to tire you out," he said jokingly as though channeling her thoughts. "Surgery takes a lot out of you, huh?"

Vivi nodded and yawned. At that confirmation, Zoro lifted the sheets for her, pulling them back over her when she climbed into bed. He absentmindedly kissed her on the forehead and crossed the room to sit in the rocking chair and try to get some sleep.

Vivi felt her face flush a little, her lips curling up slowly as she drifted off to sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Zoro got up in the morning, greeted with plenty of paperwork(meaning a release form). Vivi woke up and stretched as Zoro was standing to check on her once again.

"Morning, Vivi," he greeted. "I'm going to turn this paper in, and I'll be right back. Get ready to leave, okay?"

She hopped out of bed and walked over to him. Then, grabbing his hand, she cocked her head up at him.

"Okay," he decided, realising what she wanted almost immediately, "you can come with me, then."

Vivi followed him out to the reception desk.

It took a while, but she was finally checked out of the hospital. They were home free.

"So, Vivi, feeling better?" Zoro asked once they were back in the hotel room.

She nodded.

"That's good to hear," Zoro replied with a smile. "Doctor said you should lay down a few weeks."

Though she was disappointed about having to remain immobile, she didn't show it. Instead, Vivi obediently climbed into her bed and laid down. Zoro smiled and ruffled her blue hair.

"Sorry you had to go through so much and still can't find your family..."

Vivi picked up a notepad and pen.

'It's alright,' she wrote.

"I'm not going to give up, okay?" Zoro promised.

She smiled at him, utterly believing him. For comfort and support, she gave him a tight hug that might have lasted a little too long.

Zoro ruffled her hair when the moment passed.

"Get some sleep, kiddo, so you can heal quicker.


	8. Chapter 8

It was sort of early in the morning. So early, in fact, that Zoro was still asleep.

Vivi stood up, a little groggy, and headed over to the window. She knew she wasn't supposed to be up, but she wanted to get a glimpse of the sunrise(or, at least, part of it)if it was early enough. She hadn't even been standing in front of the window for five seconds before she felt a sharp, excruciating pain in her hip just milliseconds after she heard a loud pop.

She collapsed instantaneously, clutching her wound. Thanks to adrenaline, she was more shocked than hurt.

The pop was such a loud and intrusive sound in the peaceful atmosphere that Zoro stirred from his sleep. Steely grey eyes slowly opened to look around. He sat up from his bed groggily, taking a moment to register the small woman's crumpled form in front of the window.

He slid off of his bed and into the floor, walking over to Vivi and shaking her shoulder.

"Vivi? Vivi, what're you doing sleeping over here?"

She didn't respond outside of looking up at him and moving her hand away from the pained area. Blood oozed from her hip. Zoro stared at it a moment, in shock, before instinctively picking her up.

"Okay, back to the hospital we go," he announced as he rushed out the door without even bothering to find himself a shirt.

Suddenly, she became painfully aware of what was happening.


	9. Chapter 9

After much shouting and threatening, Zoro finally got Vivi into a room. She was swiftly operated on once again and put in recovery for the next few hours. Zoro - who had been scolded and forced to put on a hospital gown - came in as soon as he could.

"What in the world happened?" he demanded of anyone who was around to answer.

"I could ask you the same thing," responded Vivi's attending physician.

He was sitting at a desk opposite the door

"We found this lodged in her pelvis," he added, turning around to show Zoro and extremely high caliber bullet.

Zoro's eyes widened as he came to the conclusion that they weren't really as safe as they thought. He glanced at Vivi for some sort of explanation or sign of agreement. He didn't need to say anything; he knew Vivi understood they needed to get on the road again.

"Well, do you know who tried to kill this young lady?" the doctor followed up. "I understand she was here recently to get a couple of broken ribs treated."

Irritation creeped into his voice, as though he was suspecting Zoro of domestic violence. Zoro didn't pick up on that. Instead, he felt hope rise up in his chest. Maybe they wouldn't have to run away again. Maybe this doctor would believe him.

"Well...I know who it is," he began, "but I don;t know his name or anything, really. I, uh, I know what he looks like. He's bigger than me, he has long-ish black hair, he's missing a hand, and he has a giant scar across his nose."

The doctor raised an eyebrow.

"This is no time to be making things up, buddy. Your story is bullshit."

Zoro felt the hope begin to die as he started to register exactly what the doctor was trying to say.

"I'm not making anything up!" he protested. "Do you think I shot her?"

He was inexplicably angry that anyone would think he'd hurt Vivi.

The doctor sighed.

"It's a bit unlikely that you did it, considering the angle it went in and the fact you got her here in time," he reasoned.

"Well, the man I described was real. He's been chasing us ever since I found her."

"Then, why the hell didn't you call the authorities?"

Irritation was growing into flat-out rage.

"Because the goddamn authorities think he's her father!"Zoro shouted, feeling the urge to kick his sorry ass across the room rise up.

The doctor paused a moment, then stood up.

"I'm sorry," was all he had to say before leaving the room.

Zoro huffed, crossing his arms and turning his attention back to Vivi, who was just waking up.

She smiled groggily at Zoro, giving him a weak little wave. Zoro impulsively pushed some stray hair from her face.

"Geez. I'm terrible at this. Bad things keep happening to you," he scolded himself aloud.

She grabbed one of his hands with both of hers. She desperately wanted to be able to tell him to quit worrying, even though some part of her was aware he'd never listen.

"I'm...sorry, Vivi," he said weakly.

He'd said sorry to her so many thimes, but he knew sorry didn't cut it. She'd almost died, and where had he been? Asleep. Zoro knew he couldn't handle this job by himself much longer. Hell, he should have known he wasn't going to be able to do it from the beginning.

Vivi squeezed his hand gently.

"I'll be able to check you out in a couple hours," Zoro told her. "After that, we'll get our things from the hotel room and head to one of my friends' houses. I think I know someone who can help you more than I can."

Vivi cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Don't worry. He'll be more than willing to help. He'll probably see this as an adventure," Zoro said with a small chuckle, his eyes seeming to remember something fondly.

Vivi nodded, feeling a little apprehensive about this new idea, but Zoro trusted this guy. That was enough for her.


	10. Chapter 10

A little while later, Zoro was heading up to his friend's - Luffy's - front door, walking slowly so as to support Vivi successfully as they walked. He knocked.

"Oi, Luffy! It's Zoro. Open up."

The door swung open to reveal a short, black-haired man with a small scar under his eye and a huge, gummy grin lighting up his face.

"Hey, Zoro! Come in!" he exclaimed emphatically as he turned to lead them into his house.

Zoro shut the door behind them and prepared himself for a barrage of questions.

"Hey, Zoro, who's your friend?"

"Actually, that's, uh, that's what I wanted to talk to you about," Zoro replied. "Vivi, this is Luffy. Luffy, this is Vivi. She, uh, needs more help than I can offer her. I thought, maybe, you could help."

"Sure," Luffy replied instantly, no thought required on his part.

Vivi cautiously offered her free hand to him, which he promptly shook with just as much energy as he seemed to do everything else.

"So...before you actually agree to anything...I should explain everything."

With that, Zoro took Luffy aside to tell him the whole story, from finding Vivi in the field to the situation they found themselves in currently.

"Whoa...that's awful," Luffy exclaimed, practically wrenching Vivi's hand away from Zoro to show his sympathy. Then, just as suddenly, his mood changed again. "Are you guys hungry?"

Zoro blinked before shrugging in response, looking to Vivi for her answer.

"Sure," he decided, "I could eat something."

Vivi nodded bashfully.

"What do you have?" Zoro asked him.

Luffy hopped up and went into the kitchen. When he returned, he gave them both a weird-looking cake.

"This!" he announced. "It's amazing!"

Zoro examined it for a moment when he accepted it.

"Thanks, Luffy."

"No problem, guys."

Zoro sat at the table.

"Anyway, what's going on with you, Luffy?"

"I'm fine," Luffy replied simply, helping Vivi to the table. Once he reached his destination(and Vivi's)he patted her on the head less than gently.

"Hey! Be careful!" Zoro told him a little too quickly. "She's not in any condition to roughhouse with you!"

"Sorry, Zoro, I didn't mean to hurt your girlfriend," Luffy apologised solemnly.

Vivi's face turned bright pink.

"Luffy, it's not like that. You're embarrassing her," Zoro told him flatly, his cheeks showing a much less pronounced flush.

Luffy laughed.

"Sorry," he lied, continuing to laugh.

"You are not!" Zoro argued, tapping him harshly on the head in a feigned display of agitation.

Luffy continued to laugh still. Suddenly, he cleared his throat.

"Okay, I'm done now," he announced. "You guys can have the bedroom."

Obviously, he wasn't really done.

He could scarcely contain his laughter.

Vivi's face seemed to be turning a deeper scarlet with every second that passed, and she shrunk a little.

"Luffy, where do you get these stupid ideas from?!" Zoro demanded, looking as though he was about to throttle his friend.

"I'unno, but it sure is funny," Luffy replied, still trying to contain himself and regain whatever 'composure' he'd had before.

"It's not funny! Look at Vivi!"

"Whoa, her face is all red!"

"See? You're embarrassing her."

"Sorry," he said between giggles.

Zoro rolled his eyes. "Close enough."

He tapped Vivi on the shoulder.

"You want anything else, Vivi? You haven't really eaten since yesterday."

She jumped and quickly turned toward him, shaking her head after getting over the little shock he gave her.

Zoro patted her on the head softly.

"Alright, don't be afraid to ask for anything. Luffy's a good friend."

She nodded, which seemed to throw Luffy into another barely contained fit of giggles.

"Luffy, don't make me punch you."

This was beginning to embarrass Zoro, as well.

"Sorry."

"You'd better be!"

"Alright, geez!"

"Okay, Vivi," Zoro piped up, turning his attention away from Luffy, "You sleep on the couch tonight. I have to go to work tomorrow morning, so I won't be here until the afternoon. But, don't worry: Luffy has the day off tomorrow. You won't be alone."

Vivi nodded rather reluctantly, though she tried to hold her feelings back.

"Don't be too weird, Luffy," Zoro added meaningfully.

"I won't!" Luffy huffed, taking on a rather offended tone.

"Good." Zoro turned to Vivi. "You sure you'll be okay here?"

Vivi grabbed his hand and nodded to be sure he knew she'd be fine.

"Alright, good," Zoro said with a smile and a reassuring hand squeeze.


	11. Chapter 11

Vivi couldn't go back to sleep. All she could do was look back and forth between the hallway and Zoro. After a few moments of this she sat up, gathering the courage to carefully slip off the couch and lay down next to Zoro. Awkwardly, she put an arm around him and laid her head on his chest. When she was sure she wasn't going to wake him up, she fell into the first peaceful sleep she'd had in a long time.

Zoro woke up early in the morning to this odd scene. It took him an agonizingly long time to disentangle himself from her without waking her(not to mention his face got hotter the longer he thought about it). Finally, when he was done, he started getting ready for work.

At least an hour passed before Vivi was up, and by then Zoro was long gone. She sat in the floor until her mind fully woke up and slowly remembered how she got in the floor. Her face reddened right as Luffy was coming out of his room, yawning.

"Hey, Vivi! What're you doing on the floor?" he greeted.

She smiled awkwardly with a shrug.

"Want some breakfast? 'Cause I want some breakfast!"

She nodded and tried getting up, using the couch to help herself up. As she did, Luffy began digging through his refrigerator for some satisfactory food.

"What do you like to eat?" he asked, looking back at her.

She shrugged.

As soon as Vivi was able to get to her feet, she fell on the couch.

Luffy looked over at the sound of a body hitting the couch, confused for a minute.

"Oh!" he suddenly exclaimed as realisation hit him.

He ran into the living room and helped her up.

"Sorry. I forgot you had a bullet in you."

She giggled silently and patted him on the back. He took her into the kitchen so as to start making food. After about an hour and a total of three kitchen fires, Luffy decided to pour cereal instead. Vivi bowed to him as she was served in a gesture of gratitude. Luffy grinned in return, gobbling up his breakfast in what Vivi was sure was record time.

"Wanna go somewhere today, Vivi?" he asked, wiping his face on his sleeve.

She cocked her head at him. What on Earth could he have planned?

Luffy tapped her shoulder.

"Hellooooo? I asked if you wanted to go anywhere!" he repeated loudly, as though she were hard of hearing as well as mute.

Although she was still curious, she shook her head at him.

"Aww, you just want to stay here? Fine. What do you want to do?"

Vivi shrugged. She didn't care what they did, so long as it didn't endanger Luffy.

Luffy sighed and pouted.

"Wow. You're boring," he concluded rather bluntly.

She patted him on the back apologetically instead of becoming offended.

"Wanna play a game?"

She nodded slowly, wondering if she'd regret that decision.

"Okay...let's play tag!"

Vivi sighed exhaustedly and shook her head.

It wasn't quite that she didn't want to play with him, but he seemed to keep forgetting she could hardly stand up on her own.

"Oh, right," he remembered with a frown. "Hmm...what does Zoro do with you?"

Vivi frowned. He seemed to be forgetting a lot of things about her, and she was beginning to be frustrated. After all, there were only so many things she could communicate with gestures and facial expressions. So, she gestured as though she was writing on her hand. Luffy, after taking a few seconds to translate it, hopped into the living room and came back with her notepad and pencil.

"Sorry!"

She took the notepad and pencil from him.

'Thank you,' she wrote.

"Yeah, so anyway: What does Zoro do with you?"

'We just talk.'

Luffy sighed dramatically.

"Wowwwww, Zoro's boring. I bet you're glad you get to hang out with someone fun for a change. Come on, we're going to the park!"

With that decision, he picked her up and ran out the door.


	12. Chapter 12

Vivi subconsciously squeezed Luffy as she took a nervous look around. There were so many people at the park that she couldn't help but wonder if the muscular murderer was hiding behind some of them. Maybe she was just being paranoid.

"You need to get out more," Luffy explained to her, "even if you just want to sit and watch. The sun's good for you!"

She stopped looking around for long enough to nod to him.

"Hey, Vivi, you want me to push you on the swing?" he asked with a grin.

She nodded hesitantly. Luffy laughed and sat her down on one of the swings.

"Hold on tight, okay?"

She nodded and held on tightly to the ropes on the swing.

Luffy, grinniing, began pushing her on the swing.

"Hello," a horribly familiar voice greeted sinisterly.

Vivi turned in the direction of the voice, beginning to tremble. She was right to have been nervous, she came to realise. Before her stood the terrifying man that had been stalking her, Zoro, and now Luffy. Luffy didn't seem to have picked up on the danger, for the swing was still moving. Vivi glanced nervously between him and the man, dragging her feet on the ground to signal her desire to quit swinging. She tugged Luffy's shirt, her eyes now glued to the man in case he decided to hurt her when she looked away. Luffy followed her gaze instinctively.

"Who are you?"

"Just a friend of hers," he replied simply. "I was wondering if you'd let me speak to her alone a moment."

Luffy felt in his gut something was wrong with this man. He could hear something sinister lurking behind his words. So, he turned to look over his shoulder at Vivi, looking for any sign of approval. Findind a look of pure horror on her face instead, he looked back up at the man and told him, "She's busy right now."

He shook his head, the corners of his mouth turning up ever so slightly.

"That, my boy, was the wrong answer."

He'd carried himself so calmly up to this point that everyone assumed they were having a regular conversation. As a result, a collective gasp sounded from everyone in the park when the man's fist slammed into Luffy's face. The man then quickly sat down next to him and locked his left leg under his arm. Vivi had managed to pull herself up at that moment, but it was too late. A sickening crunch and a scream of pain signified that the man had broken Luffy's leg, and it was clear he was moving to break more things. Luffy, seething with the effort, grabbed the man's head before he could do anything and headbutted him. The stalker recovered quickly and began punching him mercilessly in the chest.

Vivi whistled loudly to get his attention, and that it did. He stood up and walked over to her slowly as though he'd suddenly remembered his purpose in being there. She started to visibly shake and realised she'd had absolutely no plan.

"There's something I've always wanted to tell you," he said quietly, picking her up by the throat. "You were always my favourite."

By the last comment, his voice had dropped to a whisper, and a sinister smile crept onto his features. Vivi gagged and grabbed his arm. He was about ready to throw her down before the sound of distant sirens stopped him. He put her down gently and let her go.

"One more thing before I go," he began, "just something for you to remember me by until I...visit you again. This - " here, he paused to punch her as hard as he could were the bullet had struck her, illiciting a sharp gasp from her as she fell to the ground, " - was only a warning."

With that, he was gone. He'd simply left as though nothing had ever happened.

"Are you...okay?" Luffy asked her weakly through a lot of laboured breathing, trying his damndest to sit up.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she struggled to sit up as well. Blood gushed between her fingers, and she fell back over. She started to worry about where that man was going: What if he knew where Zoro was? The thought of him hurting Zoro without her being there to stop it like she had stopped him from hurting Luffy filled her with worry more than anything else. She sat up and tried standing up, but that ended up making her lose consciousness.


	13. Chapter 13

The authorities had, fortunately, brought along an ambulance at the mere mention of a dangerous man on the premises. As soon as Zoro got off work, he headed to the hospital(since Luffy had asked the doctor to notify him immediately).

A clueless Zoro walked into their room, immediately demanding to know what happened. His eyes betrayed guilt and anger in spite of his stoic demeanor. Vivi, on the other hand, let out a huge sigh of relief at the sight of him. She hadn't realised, until that moment, just how worried about him she had been.

Luffy smiled widely at his friend.

"Hey, Zoro!" he greeted, trying to avoid an explanation of what happened.

"Luffy, what the hell happened?" Zoro demanded again. "Why are you in the hospital?"

Luffy seemed to sober up immediately, seeing he couldn't very well avoid the topic. His voice lowering in volume, he explained everything to Zoro. Consequently, Zoro sat down and rubbed his temples in frustration.

"How did he find you?" he asked, sounding as though he was talking to himself rather than anyone else.

"I'unno! He came out of no-where!" Luffy exclaimed.

"I'm sorry, Luffy. I didn't mean to throw all this on you. I had no clue he'd come after you. God...I'm sorry."

Vivi looked down, biting her lip. It wasn't his fault, she knew, it was hers. She found herself wishing she'd protested more when Luffy picked her up. If only she'd told Zoro his friend would be put in horrible danger on account of her presence. She even went so far as to wish she'd been hidden better when Zoro walked by. The simple fact of the matter was they'd all be better off with her as a corpse.

She started to cry quietly.

"It's okay, Zoro, no-one can be blamed for that," Luffy responded simply.

Zoro patted him on the head apologetically before turning his attention to Vivi.

"Vivi, what's the matter? How badly did he hurt you?" he asked, concluding the tears he was observing were a result of the pain he knew she was in.

Vivi looked up at him. She could tell he felt awful about this whole thing, even when she was sure everyone could plainly see it was her fault it happened in the first place. She half-heartedly made a writing gesture at him. Zoro nodded in understanding, heading out of the room and coming back with a notepad and pen. She took it from him and began to write.

'I'm really sorry.'

"Vivi, what do you have to apologise for?"

He was clueless.

'I'm sorry I endangered the both of you. He wouldn't be trying to hurt you if it weren't for me.'

"Vivi, don't even start blaming this on yourself. I knew what I signed up for from the moment I found out your kidnapper knew what I looked like. This whole thing is my responsibility, and mine alone."

'I wish you'd be mad at me. Just a little.'

She paused a moment before adding 'Please?'

"Vivi, I'm not going to get mad at you," Zoro said sternly. "I don't have a reason to be mad at you."

'Even if you aren't mad, please let me know you at least forgive me for wrecking your life.'

Zoro took her by the shoulders and stared firmly into her violet eyes.

"Vivi, there's nothing to forgive. You didn't do anything wrong, okay?"

He smiled at her a little.

"Now...try to smile, okay? It'll lighten up your mood."

She blushed slightly and managed to smile for a moment.

Adorable.

"See? Everything's going to be okay, Vivi. It might take a little while, but it'll happen."

Vivi pulled him into a tight hug, burying her face in his chest. Awkwardly, he began petting her head.

"Don't worry Vivi."

Vivi closed her eyes and held onto him tighter. Zoro cleared his throat.

"Get some sleep, okay, Vivi?" he suggested as he looked over at Luffy. "He's managed to pass out."

Hesitantly, she let go of him. Opening her eyes to look up at him, she nodded and laid down.

"Good-night, Vivi."

Zoro looked over at the younger snoring man.

"Night, Luffy."


	14. Chapter 14

In the morning, Zoro was off at the front desk to sign Vivi and Luffy out. He hated staying in the hospital too long.

Vivi woke up to see Zoro was gone. She sat up to look around for him frantically. Her thoughts immediately went to the worst possible things that could have happened to him.

She forced herself onto her feet.

Right then, Zoro came back into the room to find Vivi trying to leave.

"Hey, Vivi! Sit down; you don't want to strain yourself."

She sighed in relief, sitting back down. Luckily, she was only being paranoid.

"Don't worry. As soon as Luffy wakes up, we're leaving."

Zoro looked over at Luffy and grinned.

"Want me to wake him up?"

Vivi shook her head, but that didn't matter much as Luffy woke up right then.

"Morning, Zoro!" he greeted.

"Hey, Luffy. We're ready to go when you are."

Zoro gestured to the wall, where a pair of Luffy-sized crutches were waiting.

"The doctory brought these in for you."

"Cool! Crutches! I can play with them without getting into trouble!" he exclaimed excitedly.

"Uhh...yeah. Just grab 'em and let's go," he replied, offering his arm to Vivi.

"Okay!" Luffy grabbed the crutches and stood up with them. "Let's go!"

Vivi grabbed Zoro's arm and stood up.

Zoro had gotten the both of them laying down and gave them their pain medicine. Sure that Luffy was okay, he went into the living room and sat next to Vivi.

"Hey, Vivi," he greeted, handing her paper and a pencil. "You doing better?"

She took them from him and responded with, 'Yeah, I'm fine.'

"Hey, uh, I'm sorry if this is a little weird for you, but Luffy told me that guy said something to you before he left. Do you remember what it was?"

Vivi shuddered and looked down at her lap. She remembered so clearly she could almost hear his gravelly voice telling her, "You were my favourite".

'Yes,' she wrote reluctantly, 'he said I was his favourite and that my bullet wound was just a warning.'

Zoro frowned at the words for a moment, wondering what the man had in store for Vivi.

"We might have to move again," he said thoughtfully.

'Sorry,' she wrote to him before grabbing his hand.

"Don't apologise, Vivi. I'm glad to help in any way I can," he told her, smiling and stroking her hair reassuringly with his free hand.

Blushing a little, she subconsciously leaned into the touch.

"All I can tell you is focus on something happy and try to rest," Zoro concluded with a shrug.

Vivi looked up at him. She could feel her face heat up when she started to think about him, and she looked back down to hide it. It was a sort of confirmation to her that she was certainly developing some strange feelings for this man.

Zoro, however, had other ideas. Thinking she was getting a fever on top of everything else, he put his hand on her forehead.

"Geez, now you're getting sick."

She chuckled silently and shook her head.

"Just to be safe, I'll get your some medicine on the way back from work. You're definitely getting a temperature."


	15. Chapter 15

Overnight, Vivi again 'fell' next to Zoro, who had yet again woke up to this little surprise. He was beginning to question whether it really was an accident. Gently, he shook Vivi awake.

She peeled her eyes open and looked up at him groggily.

"Vivi, how did you get down here?"

Her face turned red, and she let go so that she could shrug at him innocently.

Zoro looked at her a moment.

"You, uh, you don't know how you managed to get off the couch and latch onto me in the middle of the night?"

She shook her head firmly.

"...If you say so, kid. I'm gonna get ready for work."

He picked her up carefully and laid her down on the couch.

"Get some sleep and try to stay on the couch. I'll see you when I get back."

She nodded and carefully curled up in a ball.

Zoro came back in the afternoon to a quiet home. Vivi was still sleeping peacefully on the couch, and Luffy was getting food.

"Was she asleep all day?" Zoro asked, shutting the door behind him.

"Yep. I thought she was awake for a second but, no, she was just dreaming or something."

"Well, I got some medicine for her. She was running a temperature yesterday."

"Really? That's awful."

"I know, it's like everything bad that could happen to her does."

He headed into the living room.

"Hey. Vivi," he said softly as he shook her awake.

She sat up alarmingly fast and punched Zoro in the face.

"Oh, geez!" Zoro yelled, stumbling back, and covering his swelling lip.

Luffy laughed.

Realising who it was that she just punched, she gasped and covered her mouth in shock.

"Had a bad dream?" he asked her, rubbing his sore lip.

She nodded. Awkwardly, Zoro patted her on the shoulder and asked, "Wanna talk about it?"

Vivi shook her head.

"Alright," Zoro said with a nod, handing her a dosage of cold medicine. "Here, take some of this."

She took the medicine even though she knew full well she didn't need it.

Zoro put the rest of the medication into a cabinet.

"Heard you had a good nap today."

Vivi looked out the window and, for the first time, realised how late it was. Upon taking a closer look, she saw a man across the street, walking his dog. It was him, and he turned to wave at her through the window.

She jumped back and ended up falling in the floor, suddenly a nervous, trembling wreck.

"Vivi!" Zoro exclaimed, shocked by the sudden movement.

He moved over to her and put an arm around her shoulders.

"Vivi, what happened?" he demanded.

She pointed a shaky finger across at the window. When Zoro and Luffy looked, however, neither of them saw a thing.

"Vivi, it's okay," Zoro assured her. "No-one's out there."

He pulled her closer to him.

"Luffy, tomorrow's my day off," he said after turning his attention from Vivi. "I'm going to take her to the library. It's quiet, and I can try to brush up on psychology so I can understand her better."

She didn't understand how he could be gone so soon. He had literally just been standing there! Where could he have gone?

Vivi held onto Zoro tightly and leaned on him.

"Okay," Luffy replied.

Zoro started to subtly rock her back and forth in a motion that was entirely subconscious.

"It's going to be okay."

She stopped trembling and sighed shakily. Luffy chuckled and muttered something.

"What are you laughing at?" Zoro barked.

"Oh, nothing," he replied mischievously.

Zoro simply rolled his eyes.

"I'm gonna take a shower," he announced, giving Vivi one last reassuring squeeze before letting her go.


	16. Chapter 16

Vivi woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. She shakily got herself off the couch to fix the problem the way she had the night before. The shaking slowed to a stop the instant she put her arms around Zoro. She began to close her eyes when, suddenly, Zoro stirred in his sleep. Steely grey eyes peeled open and flickered down to look at her.

"Vivi...?" he asked groggily.

She jumped and slowly looked up at him.

"What are you doing?"

She shrugged, starting to worry that she was creeping him out. With a tired groan, his eyes fell shut again, and the questioning was over like that. He unconsciously draped an arm around her as though it was the natural thing to do.

Oh, she realised, he was only half asleep.

She pulled herself closer to him, snuggling into his chest, before closing her eyes and going to sleep.

Zoro got up in the morning without even bothering to question how Vivi wound up latched onto him again. Instead, he went to get ready to leave the house, letting Vivi sleep in. He knew that wound took a lot out of her.

Vivi woke up and stretched. She sat up and grinned at Zoro, happy to be up at the same time as him for once. He smiled back at her.

"Get ready, alright? We're going to the library today."

She nodded and tried getting up but, after a few moments, realised she couldn't. She huffed in frustration.

"Oh, right," Zoro said sheepishly, helping her up. "Duh. Sorry."

Zoro was finally finished reading, and the two were heading home almost right at closing time. Then, the unexpected happened.

Zoro was pushed down the stairs. The only man who could have been held accountable for it - shrouded in a cloak for this public encounter - had ripped Vivi away from him and was now letting go as Zoro hit the last stair.

Vivi didn't look at the man. She half-stumbled, half-climbed down the stairs as fast as she could to kneel next to Zoro desperately and try to get him up. Zoro pushed himself up on his left arm(his right arm was in unbelievable pain).

"Vivi..." he strained himself to say, "you gotta hide..."

She shook her head. She saved Luffy's life and she wasn't about to leave Zoro when she could do the same for him.

The man had come all the way down the stairs and was now sitting next to Vivi. He gave Zoro a sinister grin before turning to Vivi. He grabbed the back of her roughly and forced her to kiss him. Vivi tried to shove him off, but wasn't strong enough. She only succeeded in making him angrier, rougher. The man forced his tongue into her mouth, and her attempts at getting away became even more desperate.

Zoro gave up on pushing himself up and grasped the man's ankle instead.

"Get off," he growled, tugging at him weakly, his nails trying to break skin.

If he hadn't been caught off guard so badly, he'd kick his ass.

The man completely ignored Zoro, now groping Vivi. She huffed angrily and bit down on his tongue hard enough to draw blood and quickly enough for him to get off. He yowled and threw her to the ground. She pushed herself up and spat out his blood. Forcefully, the man turned her over and held her down by her throat.

"It's a good thing you're worth a lot of trouble," he snarled.

She grabbed his arm and, again, tried getting him off.

Zoro managed to shove himself to a sitting position, using the arm he could move to rake his nails across the man's face.

"Get off of her," he repeated more angrily than before.

He hit Zoro with his other arm, knocking him back down.

"It's not nice to interrupt," the man scolded, turning his attention back to Vivi.

She lowered her shoulders and curled her spine as far back as she could, tucking her knees to her chest. Before he could wonder what she was doing or react otherwise, she kicked him in the chest. The man coughed and wheezed. His grip had loosened enough for her to roll out from under him. She coughed and struggled to sit up.

Unfortunately, he recovered a lot faster than she could bring herself to a sitting position.

He forced her to the ground and punched her in the hip again. Vivi gasped and grabbed her newly reopened wound. After that, he picked her up by the throat and sat her on her knees only to knock her across the room with a punch.

The sound of her hitting the wall echoed throughout the virtually empty library. She was in terrible pain, but she managed to sit up and spit out a loosened tooth.

"Vivi, hide!" Zoro yelled desperately at her. "Get away from him! That's all that matters!"

She looked at him for a moment, watching him try earnestly just to sit back up again. She looked down. Even if she abandoned Zoro, it was too late at this point, and she knew it.

Vivi looked back up to see the man was charging at her, wielding a chair. She struggled to her knees and braced herself.

"VIVI! GET OUT OF THERE!"

Frustration was showing through in Zoro's voice tone; he was yelling almost loud enough to cause a break in his voice.

When the man finally got close enough, Vivi punched him in the groin.

He crumpled and groaned in pain, the chair falling but still hitting her upside the head. Vivi fell over and simply laid there a moment. Her vision was blurry around the edges, and she was horribly confused.

The assailant sat up, hearing sirens begin to draw closer to the library, and crawled over to Vivi. He pinned her down with his handless arm and grabbed one of her shoulders. In one quick movement, he dislocated it before leaving.

Vivi turned to look at Zoro, her eyes burning with tears of pain and mixed negative emotions. Zoro was okay, though, and Vivi was satisfied enough with this fact to let go and lose consciousness.


	17. Chapter 17

Zoro acted the same as he did any other hospital visit. The cast on his right arm and foot were forgotten, his bruised ribs nonexistant.

He sat up in his bed no matter how many doctors advised against it, waiting for Vivi to wake up. He'd seen the chair hit her, flooding her face with obvious confusion and putting her in a daze. What if she had brain damage? What if she forgot about him?

Vivi opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was Zoro. She smiled widely and reached out to touch him, but he was much farther away than she'd initially thought. She looked at her annoyingly short arm in confusion.

Zoro's face brightened, and he greeted her with, "Vivi, you're okay!"

No thanks to me, he added mentally.

She nodded and tried to get up. To her dismay, pain shot through her entire body at the smallest movement.

Oh, she realised.

Just like that, every horrid detail of the last encounter with the man flooded forth in her mind. Her expression fell, and she laid back down.

Zoro forced himself into a chair with a grunt, sliding it closer to her.

"Looks like we both got sent to the hospital this time."

He smiled halfheartedly at her, patting the back of her hand.

"Sorry I couldn't do much more than lay around."

She grabbed his hand and smiled at him again. Painstakingly, Zoro leaned down and hugged her.

"I'm so sorry, Vivi."

She carefully put her arms around him and patted him on the back reassuringly.

Once again, he let go of her. Staring at her bruised lips, all he could hear were his own words echoing in his head: "It's going to be okay."

"Some 'bodyguard' I turned out to be, huh?"

Vivi patted him on the back again. He didn't seem to understand that she was supposed to be protecting him, apparently.

"I'll make it up to you by getting you a wheelchair this time around before we go. That way, you won't have to rely on me to help you get around."

She pet his head gently. Zoro took the paper and pen off the desk and handed it to her.

"Anything I can do for you now, Vivi? Anything at all?"

He didn't know what good he really could do: Every time he tried to do something for her, that monster showed up.

'I need you to get some rest, okay?'

She sat up, leaned toward him, and kissed him on the forehead. Zoro's face tinged pink, but he laughed a little in spite of himself.

"Alright," he responded, slowly pulling himself back over to his bed. "Night, kiddo."

Goodnight, Zoro, she thought.  
-

It was weird, Zoro thought, how his waking thoughts were about Vivi. His life revolved around her as of late, and it'd only been about...a week? The days blurred together so much, he didn't know.

He turned over to face her and found her awake as well.

"Morning," he greeted with a groggy smile.

She waved and smiled back at him.

Zoro pulled himself up to a sitting position.

"Sleep well?" he asked her, getting a nod in response from her. "Good. Did anyone tell you how long we have to stay in this damn place?"

She grabbed her notebook and pen.

'Two weeks.'

She handed it to him so he could read it.

Zoro sighed heavily.

"Geez, that's forever. I'll be in this stupid hospital the rest of my life."

She chuckled. He didn't like laying around any more than she did.

"Isn't there some way we can get out of here sooner?" he asked her hopefully, handing her back her means of communication.

'Not unless you're planning on sneaking out.'

A mischievous grin decorated his features as he looked over at Vivi.

"Let's leave, then. There's no harm in it. All we need is a wheelchair and crutches."

'Are we going to steal them? Wouldn't we get in trouble?'

"No, they'll give them to us."

Vivi let out a small sigh of relief.

"I'm not going to get you in trouble, I promise."

"Hey, guys," Luffy greeted as he strode into the hospital room. "I came in as soon as I could."

"Hey, Luffy," Zoro greeted cheerfully, pretending he hadn't been hurt at all.

"Whoa, you guys don't look so well," Luffy commented, sliding into a nearby chair.

"Pfft," Zoro scoffed, "I'm fine. All I did was fall on my face. Vivi took quite a beating, though."

"But, you have more casts," he replied with a confused expression.

Vivi giggled as Zoro shrugged.

"You know how clumsy I can be."

"If you fell, how did she get hurt? Did you forget to let go of her when you started falling?"

"Luffy, he found us at the library," Zoro state flatly.

"Oh! I'm sorry."

Zoro shrugged again.

"Nothing anyone could do. He caught me by surprise before I could even think to react."

"That's terrible!"

Luffy looked over at Vivi and suddenly forgot the conversation.

"Whoa, your lips are, like, purple!" he remarked, pointing with wide eyes. "How'd that happen?"

She looked down, choosing not to answer that.

"Luffy!" Zoro snapped. "Think before you speak!"

"Oh. Sorry."

"Hey, while you're here, can you see if we can get some crutches and a wheelchair in here? I asked hours ago, and they aren't listening to me."

"Sure, Zoro!" Luffy replied, standing up with his own crutches and leaving the room.

"Sorry, Vivi," Zoro apologised once Luffy left. "Thinking isn't his strong suit."

She looked over at him and nodded.

"Just...try to forget anything ever happened, I guess," he tried with a small smile.

Her lips curled into an almost unnoticeable smile. Coming from anyone else, she knew, nothing about that suggestion would be comforting in the least. However, there was something about the way he smiled at her...

Luffy came back with a couple of nurses. The nurses set down what they were carrying and left.

"I got what you asked for," Luffy announced, grinning widely.

"Great, thanks!" Zoro replied with an equally wide grin as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed.

Luffy handed Zoro the pair of crutches before pushing the wheelchair over to Vivi. Consequently, Vivi climbed into the wheelchair, holding her hip with one of her hands.

"We're heading out," Zoro said firmly. "I'm not staying her for two weeks. We can heal just as well anywhere else."


	18. Chapter 18

Zoro was pretty tired when they got home, so Luffy let him use the bedroom. Then, he came into the living room and sat on the couch next to Vivi. She awkwardly handed him the notepad.

'Luffy, can I ask you something?'

"Sure," he replied, handing the notebook back. "What is it?"

'Hypothetically,' she wrote, not realising she was asking possibly the worst person in the world to ask, 'if a girl falls in love with a boy, how should she go about telling him?'

Her face reddened as she showed him what she wrote.

Luffy stared at it dumbly and made a face.

"Is this about Zoro?" he asked bluntly.

She bit her lip, debating whether or not to tell him.

'No, of course not. It's just a hypothetical situation.'

"Why would you ask me about such a stupid situation if it was just hypothermal?"

'Hypothetical.'

"Whatever."

'Don't tell him,' she pleaded, her face turning even redder.

"Whatever. But you should probably say something. Zoro's too stupid to get a hint or anything."

'Thank you.'

"Well, it is your job to say something," he pointed out as if she was too dumb to fully comprehend the situation, "not mine!"

Vivi nodded in agreement, then a scary thought entered her mind.

'What if he doesn't like me back?'

She gave him a worried look.

"I'unno," he answered simply. "You won't know unless you try, I guess."

'Thank you for your help.'

He made another face and stood up.

"I'm hungry! You want something to eat?"

'No, thank you.'

"Suit yourself."


	19. Chapter 19

A month later, Zoro was heading out. He was able to walk without the crutches, but his arm remained in a cast.

"Thanks for letting me stay, Luffy," he said as he pushed the wheelchair-bound Vivi out the door. "You're a great friend."

"Any time," he replied with his signature grin.

Vivi pulled Luffy into a brief friendly hug, and Luffy responded by awkwardly patting her on the head.

"G'bye, guys!"

"Bye," Zoro replied as he wheeled Vivi over to his car.

He lifted her to the passenger seat.

"We're headed to Sanji's house. I called her so she knows we're coming," he explained to her as he folded up her wheelchair.

Vivi nodded, though her mind was wandering.

"I didn't want to go to that woman," he grumbled to himself, "but she's so damn nosey and everyone else is on vacation."

He loaded the wheelchair up in the backseat and started driving.

After Zoro had gone up to Sanji's door himself to lay down some ground rules about Vivi(a feat that resulted in a pout and a whole lot of flirting from Sanji), he came back to get Vivi into her wheelchair.

"I made sure Sanji isn't going to be too much of a pest to you," Zoro explained, confident that his rule against flirting with Vivi would stick.

...I didn't think he had a girlfriend, Vivi thought, feeling a small surge of panic.

When they reached the door and Vivi's heart was properly broken into several pieces(all of which she could feel individually), she managed to reach out to shake Sanji's hand. She took Vivi's hand, shaking it and grinning enthusiastically.

"Wow, she's adorable!" Sanji began to coo before Zoro shot her a look.

Vivi chuckled silently as Zoro wheeled her into Sanji's house.

"Zoro, she's hurt. Let her have the bedroom. I don't mind," Sanji suggested, smiling sweetly at Vivi.

Zoro rolled his eyes at her.

"Fine, whatever you say," he replied in a 'neither-of-us-are-buying-your-shit' sort of way before adding innocently, "You won't have to fall off the couch so much this way, Vivi."

Vivi nodded, blushing slightly. That must have been awful for Zoro, she imagined, waking up with her all over him. She felt terrible for doing that to him.

"You okay, Vivi? You look like you're running a fever aga - "

"Vivi! You're running a fever?" Sanji interrupted, her voice turning shrill at the last word as she ran to feel her forehead.

"Sanji!" Zoro barked.

She sheepishly backed off, grumbling, "Grumpy" at him.

Vivi shook her head.

"I'm going to work again tomorrow," Zoro told her. "Sorry I have to leave you here with her, but I have to work."

Vivi patted the back of his hand, and he pet her hair reassuringly.

"Zorooooo," Sanji pouted, coming out of nowhere and wrapping her arms around his neck, "why don't you ever pet my head?"

"Leave me alone!"

Vivi cocked an eyebrow at him. She couldn't understand why he would be so callous to his girlfriend.

"You're such a weirdo."

Sanji only laughed and slipped away from him.

"Are either of you hungry? Not to brag or anything, Vivi, but I'm a great chef."

Vivi nodded.

"Whatcha want, sweety? I can make you anything your little heart desires!"

Vivi took out her notepad and pen: 'Toast will do fine. Thank you.'

"Toast?" Sanji repeated with a frown. "Zoro, has she even had a proper meal under your care?"

"You know I don't cook."

"Honey, I can make you anything you want," she reiterated.

'It's fine. I'm not that hungry.'

Sanji pouted slightly. "Well, if you say so."

'Thank you, Sanji.'

"Sure thing, sugar."

"Cut it out with the pet names already, creep."

Sanji threw an offended noise in Zoro's general direction before she disappeared into the kitchen.

'It's fine,' Vivi assured Zoro, 'she isn't creeping me out.'

"I hope not. She doesn't seem to be listening to me."

'Listen to you about what?'

"I told her not to harrass you."

'Oh, okay.'

"You don't really understand, do you?"

She shook her head slowly, puzzling over what he could mean. Was there somethng deeper to understand about the situation?

Adorable.

"Nevermind, then. It can't get much worse."

'Okay, Zoro. Whatever you say.'

She smiled up at him.


	20. Chapter 20

It was a little strange to wake up without Vivi next to him, Zoro realised as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He got ready for work and quietly headed into the bedroom.

"Bye, Vivi," he said quietly so that he wouldn't wake her up, kissing her on the forehead on an impulse before he left for work.

She sat up once he was gone and touched her forehead, left to wonder why on Earth he would do that.

Sanji was cooking pancakes as she waited for Vivi to wake up. She kept glancing at the bedroom door, eagerly anticipating the moment Vivi would emerge.

Vivi limped out the bedroom door groggily. She hadn't slept all last night, and was hardly doing a good job of hiding it. Once she got to the couch, she fell onto it in exhaustion.

Sanji looked over at the sound of footsteps.

"Vivi! You're awake!" she exclaimed excitedly. "I'm making breakfast for you darling! ...Are you feeling okay, kitten?"

Sanji's loyal puppy dog grin was replaced with a look of concern.

Vivi nodded and smiled up at Sanji.

Sanji set the finished pancakes on a plate, and - after she had gotten them prepared perfectly - she made her way over to the couch.

"What's the matter, sweetheart?" she asked as she handed Vivi the plate and fork. "I can tell something's wrong, and it isn't just the bullet wound."

Vivi accepted the plate from Sanji, setting it in her lap long enough to write her a response.

'Thank you, but I'm fine.'

"Was it Zoro?" Sanji pressed. "He's such a jerk, I don't see how a delicate flower like you managed to survive this long in his company!"

'No, I'm fine, really. I appreciate your concern, though.'

"Oh, honey," Sanji cooed, pushing Vivi's hair out of her face rather flirtaciously, "you can tell me anything. I'm not like a stupid man you have to hide your feelings from."

'I don't want to talk about it.'

Sanji's eyes oozed with sympathy pain for her.

"It's okay, honey. Just eat your breakfast. I'm sorry I bothered you."

'It's okay, Sanji.'

When she was finished eating, she painstakingly took her dishes to the sink and cleaned them. She had no clue where they went, so she simply put them on the drying rack. Sanji practically floated after her as she went back to the couch.

"Ohh, you're such an angel, Vivi! You didn't need to do that! I know you're hurt! Here, let me carry you back to the couch, princess," Sanji exclaimed, offering her arms to the other girl.

Vivi, however, politely declined the offer and made it to the couch by herself.

"Vivi, honey, if there's anything else you need, just let me know," Sanji told her. "I'll do anything for you, cutie!"

Vivi was beginning to wonder if Sanji was trying to get at something, but decided it was her odd brand of being friendly.

'I'm fine, Sanji, thank you.'

She patted her on the back.

"Oh, you're the most darling girl, Vivi," Sanji fawned, stroking Vivi's hair lovingly. "I'll be cleaning up the kitchen if you need me, sweety."

'Do you need help?'

"No, no, no. Of course not, baby. I wouldn't do that to you."

'I wouldn't mind.'

"No, hun, you just sit here," she told her, kissing her forehead, "and rest. Heal up that wound of yours."

'Okay, if you say so.'

With that, Sanji was off, taking no more than fifteen minutes to clean the kitchen. She came back out to sit next to Vivi, brush in hand. Before Vivi knew what was going on, Sanji was running it through her hair.

"Having nothing but men to associate with has really taken its toll, hasn't it, sweetie pie?"

'I guess it'd be nice to have a girl friend,' Vivi scribbled down innocently.

Sanji's face brightened considerably, taking this a different way than Vivi had meant it.

"Oh, yeah?" she asked, her hope underlining her tone without any subtlety. "I've always thought so, myself."

'That's wonderful.'

Vivi sighed happily to show her how pleased she was with this newfound friendship.

Sanji's heart skipped a beat as she moved on to her next question.

"Hey, Vivi," she said, leaning closer to the younger girl's ear, "I could...be your girlfriend."

'Okay, Sanji,' Vivi agreed unwittingly, 'but you didn't have to say it like that.'

She smiled up at Sanji, too clueless to understand what she was saying.

Sanji's face turned red as she stared blankly at Vivi. After a few moments of being frozen up, Sanji smiled widely at Vivi and gave her an innocent little peck.

It was Vivi's turn to redden considerably, her eyes flooding with confusion.

Still just being friendly, she decided, though she was beginning to doubt that.

Sanji giggled and returned to her original task of brushing Vivi's hair.

"You're sooooo pretty, Viviiii," Sanji sighed dreamily.

Maybe...

'Thank you. You, too, Sanji.'

Sanji impulsively wrapped her arms around Vivi from behind.

"Oh, Vivi, I'm so happy to have you!"

I think I've misinterpreted something, Vivi realised.

'Sanji, are you trying to cheat on Zoro with me, or am I missing something? Did I say something wrong? Are you just being friendly?'

Even more confusion took over her face as she turned to look at Sanji.

She hoped she hadn't hurt her feelings.

Sanji blinked before slowly and awkwardly letting her go.

"Cheat on...cheat on Zoro?" she repeated incredulously.

There were plenty of other things to ask about, she knew, but that was the one that truly stuck out in her mind.

'Aren't you two romantically involved?'

How much am I missing? Vivi couldn't help but wonder.

Sanji took a minute to register everything that had just transpired before laughing out loud and rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly.

"Okay, hun, you seem a little confused. Zoro and I don't...we don't see each other like that. Actually...I prefer cute ladies...I'm sorry about that misunderstanding."

Sanji's face was becoming a deep, embarrassed, scarlet.

'Oh...I'm so sorry...'

Vivi's face followed suit. Looking back, she realised it was obvious. How could she have missed everything since she got there?

"I'm sorry, too," Sanji responded, pulling Vivi into an awkward, friendly hug. "You poor, sweet, innocent baby."

As she continued to fawn apologetically over Vivi, she noticed that her arm was brushing against some sort of weird...bump? She wasn't sure what it was, but it wasn't a part of her clothes, and it didn't feel like normal skin.

"Vivi..." she started, wondering if it would be too weird to ask after everything.

'What is it?'

Sanji pulled away from her and pointed to the spot on Vivi's rib cage.

"Uh...did you...what's that?" she asked dumbly.

Vivi bit her lip.

'What's what?'

"There's something..."

Sanji's face reddened a little more.

"...under your shirt."

'Nothing. Nothing at all.'

Vivi smiled awkwardly at her, attempting to hide it.

"Maybe we should let Zoro look at it when he gets back?"

'No, it's okay. Maybe it was just my shirt,' she tried.

Sanji sighed and pressed her hand against that spot.

"It's not your shirt, honey. There's something on you."

'Okay, maybe there's something there, but it's not a big deal and it'll go away.'

Sanji frowned.

"...If you say so, dear."

'It's not a problem, don't worry about it.'

She took Sanji's hand off of her and just held it.

"I still want you to talk to Zoro about it," Sanji said firmly.

'I don't see a need for worrying him about something so little.'

"Trust me, however small you think it is, it won't be so little to him. I swear to god, he almost kept me up for an hour straight last night still thinking you had a fever!"

'If that's the case, then this will give him a heart attack!'

"If he finds out by accident later, he'll have a heart attack."

'Oh. I guess I'd better tell him, then.'

"You made the right choice," Sanji told her with a smile as she lit a cigarette.

'Thanks.'


	21. Chapter 21

Zoro came home that night, wondering why Vivi was without her wheelchair.

"Nevermind that," Sanji waved him off. "Vivi has something important to tell you."

Sanji, even as she spoke to him, disappeared into the kitchen to make dinner.

'Zoro, I've been less than honest with you about something you might think is kind of important.'

Zoro raised an eyebrow at her.

"Yeah?" he prodded hesitantly, not sure if he liked where this was going.

'Don't freak out, okay?'

"I won't. I promise," he told her fimly.

Just how bad was this revelation?

Her face turned red as she lifted her shirt up to her shoulder level.

If one was honest, it was oddly beautiful. That is, the tight swirls, curves, and occasional leaf resembling a grape vine. This isn't to say that Vivi had plants growing out of her. On the contrary, these intricate designs had been carved deeply into her body, and it was impossible to imagine anything less than hours and perhaps even days spent getting it to look just right. A fleeting thought made Zoro wonder if she was still able to scream then, or if she'd been trapped in her own personal silent hell.

Zoro's eyes widened considerably as he brought his hand up to cover his mouth.

"What...what happened?" he asked her, managing to remember his promise and keep the surge of negative emotions out of his voice.

'That was the "couple of cuts" I told you about. I'm sorry,' she wrote after she hastily pulled her shirt back down to cover her.

Sanji, however, had come into the room in time to see the scars. Her reaction was on the verge of being much worse than Zoro's, perhaps enough to convey the feelings he was trying to hide and then some, but she ran back into the kitchen to act like she never saw a thing.

"Jesus," Zoro remarked. He knew the time had long gone to do anything about this development, but it frustrated him to no end.

'It gets feverish sometimes. Is that bad?'

"I, uh, I think that's normal," Zoro told her, going off of personal experience(which, granted, wasn't precisely as horrid as this particular situation, but it was the extent of his knowledge on the subject). "I just can't believe that damn doctor didn't tell me."

'I asked them not to. I'm sorry.'

Zoro sighed heavily, leaning back on the couch.

"There isn't much I can do about it," he admitted regretfully.

'That's okay.'

It didn't seem all that okay that, no matter how much therapy or repression she went through, she would be stuck with at least a physical reminder of that monster for the rest of her life, and there was nothing Zoro could do about it. However, Zoro conceded with an "Okay" anyway right before Sanji called them to dinner.


	22. Chapter 22

Vivi woke up in a cold sweat, gasping for breath and shaking violently. She was shaking so much that she could hear barely audible complaints from the bed springs break the silence of the midnight air. Carefully, she climbed into the floor, leaned back against the wall, and hugged her knees to her chest. She'd managed to fall asleep only to be welcomed into the dream world by that horrid memory. Even now, while she was awake, she could see that man hovering over her, his bloodied scalpel digging into her flesh. The only thing she could hear were her own muffled screams, and they continually echoed in her ears even after the nightmare was over.

She held on tighter to her knees, started crying, and braced herself for yet another long night.

Zoro was up early in the morning. He had plenty of days to make up for at work, which sucked since he couldn't take the time needed to help Vivi. He was going into the bedroom to check on her before he headed out, but saw that she was awake and distressed as opposed to sleeping peacefully as he'd expected. In response, he left and came back with a notepad and pen, flicking on the light. Work could wait.

"What's the matter, Vivi?" he asked. "Why aren't you sleeping?"

Vivi, resisting the urge to cling to him, took the notepad and pen.

'I'm not tired.'

She gave him a shaky smile that tried to say 'Don't worry about me', but the illusion was ruined by the tears streaking down her face. Zoro frowned.

"You aren't fooling me."

Zoro wondered if he'd have to call into work again. He'd probably be fired, but something in his mind registered that that was the least of his worries when he considered that he was on the run.

Vivi swallowed hard and looked down.

'I'm fine, really,' she wrote down quickly. 'It's nothing.'

Zoro sighed and put his arm around her.

"Vivi, you know this is something I can't just let you cover up. I know something's bothering you."

'I just had a bad dream. It's no big deal.'

"...Vivi..." Zoro sighed, "why do you want to hide this from me? It's not like it's helping you any."

'I don't want you to worry about me.'

"It's to late for that," he sighed again, giving her a hesitant but reassuring hug.

'I'm sorry.'

She wrapped her arms around him tightly, leaning against him.

"None of this is your fault," Zoro reprimanded her firmly. "Don't you apologise to me."

She nodded, not wanting to let go.

Zoro figured he'd be there a while, but it didn't matter that much. His boss wasn't particularly pleased with him lately anyway. Absentmindedly, he began to stroke her hair. Vivi reluctantly forced herself to turn him loose.

'Thank you, Zoro. I feel a lot better. I hope you won't be late for work on my account.'

That was a lie, she knew. She wouldn't feel better for a long while.

Zoro shrugged, evidently buying into this lie.

"My boss was going to fire me anyway."

'I'm sorry. I seem to just keep ruining your life. How can I make it up to you?'

She rubbed the back of her neck as she showed him the notebook.

"You're not ruining my life," Zoro argued stubbornly.

Vivi simply sighed. She was too tired to argue back, really.

'You're too nice to me, Zoro.'

"Well...someone has to be if you won't even let yourself sleep. You should probably do that, by the way."

'Alright. I'll try.'

"Need a warm glass of milk or something?" Zoro joked as he stood.

She giggled silently.

'No, thank you.'

"Alright," he said, ruffling her hair slightly. "I'll probably be back a lot sooner than usual. Go to sleep."

Vivi used the bed to stand herself up again so that she could hug Zoro one more time. He turned awkwardly and hugged her back.

"Night, kid."

She squeezed him before letting go.

Zoro smiled at her and left for work.


End file.
